Apple has removed Bitchat, an offline messaging application backed by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, from its India App Store following a takedown demand from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
The development came to light after Dorsey posted a screenshot of Apple's App Review notice on X on Saturday, saying the Indian government had officially removed Bitchat from the App Store.
According to the notice shared by Dorsey, Apple said Bitchat was being removed from the India App Store because it included content that was illegal in India. The company cited its App Review Guidelines, which require apps to comply with applicable laws in countries where they are made available.
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Apple said MeitY had issued the takedown demand under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
The company, however, did not specify which content in Bitchat was considered illegal or identify the particular grounds cited by MeitY under Section 69A. Apple directed the developer to contact MeitY for additional information about the removal and the legal requirements involved.
Apple said the removal was limited to its India App Store. Bitchat would remain available in other territories selected by the developer through App Store Connect.
The company also said Bitchat would no longer be available for internal or external TestFlight testing in India. Public TestFlight links for the application would similarly stop working in the country.
The app was not available on Apple's India App Store when checked on Saturday, according to ETtech.
The latest move follows earlier action involving Bitchat in India. According to ETtech, during the July protests, the Indian government ordered GitHub to restrict access to Bitchat, citing concerns that the application could be misused by anti-national elements, terrorist organisations, organised criminal groups and cybercriminals.
The report said the order was issued by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, and directed GitHub to disable access to three Bitchat repositories within three hours.
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Bitchat is designed as a decentralised, peer-to-peer messaging platform. It uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) mesh networking rather than conventional internet connectivity and does not require a phone number or central server.
Devices in proximity can connect directly, with messages relayed across multiple devices to extend the network's range. The app can therefore facilitate communication without cellular networks or Wi-Fi.
Apple's latest notice does not state whether the earlier concerns surrounding Bitchat were the basis for the new takedown demand.
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